Air China Limited has selected the Rolls-Royce Trent 700 to power its new fleet of 20 Airbus A330-200 widebody aircraft. Together with a long-term TotalCare™ services agreement for the engines, the total value of the contract is $800 million.

A spokesman for Air China Limited, said: “Air China is very pleased to have reached this agreement with Rolls-Royce. The Trent 700 engine offers outstanding reliability and performance. This order marks the beginning of a much closer relationship between Air China and Rolls-Royce.”

Mike Terrett, President – Civil Aerospace, Rolls-Royce, said: “This is a significant decision by China’s flag carrier. Not only does it mark the first appearance of the Trent engine in Air China’s colours, it also strengthens our presence in the world’s fastest growing aerospace market. As the most powerful engine on the A330, the Trent 700 will provide Air China with excellent performance from more demanding airports such as Lhasa. This order is a welcome expression of confidence in Rolls-Royce.”

Quoting IanatSTN (Reply 2):How big a loss would this deal be to PW? Is it a particularly good deal for RR?

This is a devastating loss for PW. Air China is a long-time PW customer. Moreover, PW have been a strong second (to RR) on the A330 programme and it remains one of the few programmes where PW could reasonably expect further orders. Ever since Air China announced its A330 order it seemed likely that this would be an industry litmus test for perceptions of PW's future. An Air China order would be a much-needed boost for PW's credibility. But if a loyal customer such as Air China turned its back on PW it could be interpreted as a vote of no confidence in PW's future. That is what has happened.

For RR it is further confirmation that they are the engine of choice on the A330. They now have about 44% of the firm orders (with PW on 31% and GE on 25%). It also cements their dominance in China. They have a clean sweep with China Southern (4), China Eastern (20) and now Air China (20) all choosing RR for the A330s. And, of course, RR already had Cathay (29) and Dragonair (16). That's five airlines operating almost 90 A330s in China & Hong Kong and they all have RR Trent 700s.

I've argued elsewhere that the balance of power in engines has moved dramatically. PW are largely out of the running and the choice for airlines is between GE and RR. This order would seem to support that argument.

The Cathay number is correct (last time I looked they had 26 in service plus three more on order) but I admit I've always had a job keeping track of Dragonair! They certainly have 10 in service and at least 4 more on order though I have the number 16 on a spreadsheet. I'd also welcome someone better informed who could clarify this. But they're all RR and that makes, say, 85-90 in China and Hong Kong.